It has been a curiosity to me for a long time as to why there are no specific directions for how to get married in the Bible. Marriage permeates our daily life and the fabric of our cultures and society yet the Bible is curiously silent on the topic.
Marriages are mentioned in the Bible, but are there any examples of vows, ceremony, documents, etc. Why?
Today I had a thought about this verse:
Matthew 5:28
28But I say unto you, That whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
So if a man or woman looks at someone to lust after them then they have committed adultery with them in their heart.
By process of reverse engineering Matt. 5:28, the implication is that if adultery occurs in the heart then marriage occurs in the heart, too.
Does this explain why there is no clearcut criteria for marriage in the Bible? We just need to look a little deeper and read between the lines a bit.
I believe that it seems logical to me that true marriage occurs in the heart. A document and ceremony doesn't validate a marriage. As we know there are plenty of loveless sham marriages.
So what are your thoughts/opinions/debates/rebukes/etc? Thank you for taking the time to read this.